If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Do you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Would it matter if they were physical or virtual?

Depends greatly upon the system and particulars of the adventure. Mostly I'd use it only for big set pieces rather than laying out entire dungeons and the like.

Even 4E didn't require a grid for every fight (approximately 3/4 of all my 4E play was done Theatre of the Mind-style).

4th edition got me into using miniatures for RPGs, and I like it a lot. I continued with Starfinder/Pathfinder, and even used miniatures for my WEG Star Wars game I GMed a bit ago.

When DMing 4th, I used a lot of papercraft terrain, but the time and effort to construct it burned me out. I wouldn't go that far again. I'm good with scribbling terrain on a dry erase grid.

If I had the terrain provided for me? There's still the issue of transportation and setup. Maybe occasionally for particularly cool encounters. But not all the time.

Depends on the game for me. I love tactics video games so things like WH 40k or Necromunda, Iron Kingdoms or L5R Clan War, or even 13th Age or 4e D&D could be a lot of fun! BUT, I know it takes a lot of setup for adventures AND setup for terrained tables... and it is hard to get enough players as similarly dedicated. And then there is the clean up.

Like any party you gotta gauge your target audience. And regardless of intent some casuals will saunter on in like buffalo and move on leaving a mess after crowding out the desired experience. If you could filter committed people better that'd be worth more than the potentiality of other supplemental things.

Quote from: Greentongue on January 27, 2021, 01:25:06 PM
If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Depends on the game. For most of the RPGs I play, I would not use them. But I'd definitely use them for wargaming.

QuoteDo you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Depends on the game. For the RPGs I play I don't find terrain and such helpful, so I'd say it's time wasted and ill-spent. For other games (e.g., wargames), it's a definite enhancement and worthwhile.

QuoteWould it matter if they were physical or virtual?

Absolutely. I'd have zero use for virtual terrain and props. My gaming is around a tabletop.

No.  I only use any kind of miniature representation when it adds more to the experience than it detracts.  Virtual doesn't change this point, only shifts the grounds a little. 

To give some context, there are gamers for whom you could set up a large screen TV with the most useful game aids, maps, etc. at a physical table, use it perfectly, and--when it was on they wouldn't hear 1 word in 3 the GM said.  Props are only good to the extent that they make things run faster or they tie back into the players imaginations.  Preferably both at the same time.

Quote from: Greentongue on January 27, 2021, 01:25:06 PM
If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Would and do, whenever possible.

QuoteDo you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Always time well spent. I think the look and feel of models and terrain on the table adds a huge amount to a game session.

QuoteWould it matter if they were physical or virtual?

Very much so, has to be actual physical pieces. No interest in VTT until it becomes perfect 360degree 3D hologram.

Crunchy, combat-heavy stuff?
All the time.

Lighter, story-style stuff?
Never.

Hell, yes, its great for keeping track of complicated fights.

Quote from: Greentongue on January 27, 2021, 01:25:06 PM
If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Do you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Would it matter if they were physical or virtual?

Maps can be useful for fights, but that depends on system and genre.

For fantasy dungeon crawls, yes, you need maps, and minis of the party are very nice to have. Or, for online, standard sized icons.

For superheroes, I find only Champions/Hero really needs a map, and I don't play Hero any more.

For games like Feng Shui, where the players are supposed to be improvising and coming up with cool action movie stuff, maps would actually be an impediment.

When I ran my D6 pirates game, I put a lot of effort into making maps of the carribbean, and city maps sometimes, but I didn't map out buildings. Action was more cinematic than tactical.

At this point, all my gaming is online, so physical terrain and props would be irrelevant. Once we're out of quarantine, we'll see if the face to face games come back.

With Tabletop Simulator you can use virtual versions if you find them useful.

When I ran DnD 5e, I'd occasionally use terrain if I knew a specific battle was coming up and it was important etc.
When I DID use it, it was always appreciated and it sped up combat immensely. It also gave a lot of depth to combat and even RP, as it was much easier to visualise what was going on, the scale of things etc.

Quote from: Greentongue on January 27, 2021, 01:25:06 PM
If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Do you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Would it matter if they were physical or virtual?

I like setting up both physical and virtual model railroad sets.

Quote from: Greentongue on January 27, 2021, 01:25:06 PM
If you had an unlimited supply of 3D terrain and props, would you use them?

Do you think the time spent setting up a table is time well spent or that it detracts from the game?

Would it matter if they were physical or virtual?

Yes, no, I don't know. Serious response.

In THEORY minis and terrain are such an awesome idea and I fondly reminisce about using them all the time, but in practice I dunno...there's just something about "theater of the mind" that makes the game more fantastical. I do like my dry erase board with minis for important battles when I run D&D, but otherwise I don't use them.

Hmmm...I think this is one of those situations where we've all been. Grandiose ideas for running this campaign and in your head it's so awesome, but when you actually play it, things don't turn out quite like you planned.

For wargames, yes - for RPGs, not so much. I used TotM when running ftf gaming, with hand-drawn maps. Some of my friends used figures and hand-drawn battlemaps which I enjoyed, but didn't feel it was worth it for me. After running online with discord/Roll20 I see the attraction of terrain/figures but when I finally get some ftf games in they will be at the club/pub so the problem would be logistical.